Thursday, March 6

Introducing Marlena!

Marlena is the first dog that we have had as a couple. She is a purebred (supposedly) Golden Retriever. We had been thinking about getting a dog for some time. I was a bit apprehensive as having owned dogs while growing up, I knew how hard it was to raise a puppy.

We were in Kitsap county one day visiting my family and we grabbed a local paper, saw an ad for Golden Retriever puppies and had to go check them out (stopping at the cash machine on the way, of course). We got to the house on the outskirts of Bremerton and were shown to the back yard. I sat on the edge of the patio waiting for the guy to release the hounds. SIX young Golden Retriever puppies come running out of the house, all jumping over each other and racing up to me wanting to lick.

There was one puppy that had the cutest curly little ears. And soulful brown eyes. She was also hiding under a patio chair hoarding her treat from her brothers and sisters. This was going to be our little girl!

With the new puppy in tow, we stopped at a BBQ restaurant and had dinner thinking about names. The puppy, of course stayed in the car.

The two names that I remember discussing were Ndnd,pronounced "undunda", of Omicron Persei 8 (a Futurama reference) and the other name was Marlena. Evans. Dr. Marlena Evans. From Days of Our Lives. A freaking soap opera. Now granted, Ndnd was from a cartoon, but still... A SOAP OPERA?! Well, Marlena stuck and when we got her dog tag, it had to say Dr. Marlena Evans.She is quite the dainty flower now, weighing in at a hefty 85 lbs. She is very fun loving and loves to lick. And eat tissue paper. Used tissue paper being the preference. She likes to watch TV and to play with her sister (by adoption) Goldie.